The Overview
Michael Fulton
Melbourne-based skier and snowboarder with 50+ resorts across 5 continents. Specialises in Australian resorts and international resort comparisons.
Cascade Mountain's summit reaches 1,280 feet, dropping roughly 460 vertical feet to a base at 820 feet across 47 runs spread over 175 acres near Portage, Wisconsin. Terrain splits 40 per cent intermediate, 38 per cent beginner, 21 per cent advanced and 1 per cent expert. Average annual snowfall is low at roughly 50 inches, meaning the resort depends heavily on snowmaking. Cascade Mountain carries no major multi-resort pass affiliation and remains independently, family-owned.
Eleven lifts, including four quads, two doubles, two triples and three surface lifts, serve the 47-run network, a dense lift count for a Wisconsin hill of this size. Night skiing runs alongside daytime operations, popular with visitors from the Madison area roughly 30 minutes away. A 2016 expansion added eight trails and two chairlifts, growing skiable terrain by roughly 30 per cent. The resort's beginner and intermediate-heavy terrain suits families and learning skiers.
Local developer Dewey Belton opened Cascade Mountain on 13 January 1962 as part of a planned recreational community near Portage. Financial difficulties in 1974 saw control pass briefly to North Carolina National Bank, which oversaw operations into the early 1980s. Phil and Adele Walz bought the ski operation in 1977, beginning continuous family ownership that passed to their children Rob and Vicky Walz in 2006, with a third generation now involved in daily operations. The Walz family's 2016 expansion added eight trails and two chairlifts, growing the resort's terrain by around 30 per cent to its current scale.
With no major pass affiliation, Cascade Mountain sells its own day tickets and season passes directly. Adult full-day tickets range from 65 to 99 US dollars depending on date, with night skiing available separately and a Platinum Season Pass at 599 dollars. The resort suits Madison-area families seeking accessible, learning-focused skiing roughly 30 minutes from the city. Its continuous Walz family ownership since 1977, now spanning three generations, sets it apart from larger corporate Midwest competitors.
459ft
Vertical
47
Runs
175 acres
Skiable
4ft
Annual snow
The Terrain
47 runs across 175 acres skiable
Cascade Mountain spreads 47 runs across 175 acres skiable of terrain. It leans intermediate at 40%, with 18 beginner runs to find your feet and 10 advanced or expert runs when you want to push.
Terrain split
47
runs
47 runs across 4 grades
Beginner18 runs · 38%
Intermediate19 runs · 40%
Advanced10 runs · 21%
Expert0 runs · 1%
Time it right
When to visit Cascade Mountain
The 2025-26 season at Cascade Mountain ran from 6 December 2025 to 13 April 2026, a roughly nineteen-week window supported substantially by snowmaking. The resort's low natural snowfall means season length depends heavily on temperatures suitable for artificial snow production. Season dates can shift based on early and late-season weather. This is a comparatively long season given Cascade Mountain's modest natural snowfall totals.
Average annual snowfall of roughly 50 inches is low even by Midwest standards, meaning Cascade Mountain depends on snowmaking for nearly all of its season-long conditions rather than natural accumulation. This makes temperature, far more than storm cycles, the key variable in the resort's operating reliability. Base depth is maintained almost entirely through machine-made snow. Specific snowmaking coverage percentage is not confirmed in available resort information, though it is understood to be extensive given the low natural totals.
Midwinter, from late December through February, typically offers the most reliable conditions once snowmaking has built a consistent base. Night skiing sessions extend the useful hours of each day, particularly popular with Madison-area commuters. Weekend crowds are heavier than weekdays, given the resort's role serving day-trip visitors from Madison and surrounding communities. Late-season visits into April can be inconsistent as temperatures warm and snowmaking becomes less viable.
Cascade Mountain's calendar centres on family and learning-focused programming rather than festival events, consistent with its beginner and intermediate-heavy terrain. The Walz family's continuous ownership since 1977, now into a third generation, has shaped operating priorities toward steady, family-oriented growth rather than destination-style programming. Specific event programming beyond standard operations is not confirmed in available resort information. As a Madison-area day-trip resort, the calendar leans toward reliable, accessible conditions throughout the season.
Season 2025 - 2026
6 Dec 2025
Opens
13 Apr 2026
Closes
128
Days open
4 ft
Annual snow
Getting there
Getting to Cascade Mountain, and where to stay
Cascade Mountain sits near Portage, Wisconsin, with a base elevation of 820 feet and a summit at 1,280 feet across a vertical drop of roughly 460 feet over 175 acres. This is south-central Wisconsin, a region of rolling hills and farmland rather than mountainous terrain. The resort was originally developed as part of a planned recreational community by developer Dewey Belton in the early 1960s. Portage itself is a small city along the Wisconsin River.
Portage is the nearest town of note, with Madison, Wisconsin's capital and second-largest city, roughly 30 minutes away by road and the resort's primary visitor source. The Wisconsin Dells, a well-known tourism destination, sits nearby, adding to the area's broader recreational profile. The region carries a mix of farmland and small-town character alongside its recreational draws. Milwaukee lies further east, a longer drive but still within reasonable day-trip range for some visitors.
Interstate 90/94 and local roads connect Portage and Cascade Mountain to the broader south-central Wisconsin highway network. The drive from Madison takes roughly 30 minutes under normal conditions, a key factor in the resort's popularity as an after-work and weekend destination. Winter driving on Wisconsin highways can include snow and ice, though major routes are generally well-maintained. No direct public transport service reaches the resort itself.
Dane County Regional Airport in Madison is the nearest airport with commercial service, roughly 30 to 40 minutes from the resort by road. Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport offers a larger range of flight options but sits considerably further away. Most visitors reach Cascade Mountain by car directly from the Madison area rather than flying into a specific regional airport. No rail service reaches the resort directly.
Where to stay
Search all stays →Hotels and lodges near Cascade Mountain, powered by Stay22.
Latest News
From the SnowStash desk
Mount Buller Becomes Latest Australian Resort to Call Time Early on 2026
Mount Buller closes out its 2026 season this Sunday, joining Falls Creek, Hotham and Charlotte Pass in a cluster of closures landing almost simultaneously and roughly a month ahead of schedule. The culprit is stark: Spencers Creek's benchmark snow depth hit 31.2cm on 3 September, just 18% of the 73-year average and an all-time low for this point in the season. Six of Victoria and NSW's best-known resorts will have shut their lifts early within a span of about two and a half weeks.
4 Sept 2026
Tremblant to Add New Timber Summit Ski Sector for 2027/28 Season
Tremblant has confirmed a major expansion of its Quebec ski area, with a new Timber Summit sector adding 62 acres of terrain, eight trails and a high-speed quad chairlift for winter 2027/28. It's part of a CAD 42.5 million investment that also includes a new beginner learning zone at Versant Soleil opening this coming season. The project has grown considerably since it was first announced back in 2020, when it carried a far smaller budget and an opening date that never eventuated.
2 Sept 2026
Mount Hotham to Close for the 2026 Season on Sunday, September 6
We knew when the Bird Bath Pond Skim showed up on Hotham's Instagram that the season was on its way out. It's been a rough one - I only managed two days on snow all year, at Falls Creek - and now Baw Baw, Selwyn and Hotham have all called it, possibly the worst Australian season I've seen in a decade. Hotham's last day of lift operations is Sunday, 6 September, with a Retro Day, Father's Day après and closing sales before the lifts stop turning for good.
1 Sept 2026
Thredbo to Replace Ageing Gunbarrel Quad With New Six-Seat Chairlift for 2028
Thredbo Alpine Resort has confirmed plans to replace its 37-year-old Gunbarrel quad chairlift with a new six-seat Doppelmayr D-Line, targeting winter 2028. The AUD 35 million project will keep travel time roughly the same but lift capacity from 2,800 to 3,000 skiers per hour. It's part of a broader investment push that also includes doubled snowmaking capacity at Friday Flat for 2027, with the ageing Kosciuszko Express now flagged as the resort's next major lift replacement after Gunbarrel.
31 Aug 2026
Aerial Tram Collides With Crane at Alpe d'Huez: 23 Injured
An aerial tram carrying around fifty passengers struck the boom of a construction crane on the route to Pic Blanc at Alpe d'Huez on Wednesday morning, injuring 23 people, three seriously. The cabin tipped on impact before the operator reversed it to right the car. Most of the injured were treated on site, with five taken to hospital in Grenoble, including a pregnant woman assessed as a precaution.
28 Aug 2026
Why Glaciers Are Collapsing - And What Happens When They Do
A deadly flood on the Nepal-China border, a decade-old tragedy on Italy's Marmolada, and an unstable glacier right now above a village near Zermatt - three very different mountain ranges, the same underlying story. Warming ice is destabilising terrain that was considered settled for generations, and the results range from catastrophic floods to slow-motion monitoring situations that could go either way.
27 Aug 2026
Pitztal Glacier Set to Reopen for the 2026/27 Ski Season on 26 September
Tyrol's highest ski area is gearing up to open a full month ahead of most of the Alps. The Pitztal Glacier is scheduled to start its 2026/27 season on Saturday 26 September, running through to 2 May 2027, with the lower-altitude Rifflsee area following in December. High-altitude terrain up to 3,440 metres gives the glacier a head start on snow, though as always, the actual opening extent will depend on how September's weather plays out. Early online ski pass bookings can save up to 30%.
26 Aug 2026
Unstable Glacier Above Randa Puts Zermatt-Area Village on Alert
A hanging glacier above the Swiss village of Randa, just south of Zermatt, has been shedding large chunks of ice for weeks, with authorities warning more break-offs are likely. A danger zone has been closed off since June, though officials say the village's 479 residents aren't at risk. It's a familiar pattern for this glacier - it's done this before, in 1819, 1972 and 1973 - but a reminder of how closely Alpine authorities now watch terrain once considered stable.
26 Aug 2026
Cascade Mountain Snow Report
Snow Report
Updated 5 Sept 2026
1,280ft
summit
+0in
new snow · last 24 hours
Clear65°F / 75°F · NE 8mph
Snowfall
24 hours
0in
48 hours
0in
7 days
0in
Base depth
0in
Season total
0in
Total lifts11
Live open status isn’t available right now.
6 Dec 2025 - 13 Apr 2026
Hour by Hour
Next 46 hours· Updated Sep 5, 2026 at 5:02 PM
Scroll for the full outlook · Open-Meteo
7-Day Outlook
1,280 ftUpdated Sep 5, 2026 at 5:02 PMOpen-Meteo
Days 1–7
0.0"
Days 8–14
0.0"
Sat, Sept 5
Foggy
Temp75° / 65°°F
Snow0.0"(3%)
Wind8 mph NE
Live snow from the resort feed; forecast from Open-Meteo, via Supabase.
Understanding the Cascade Mountain snow report
Track current conditions at Cascade Mountain in Wisconsin. This report covers snowfall totals, base and summit depth, and the forecast across 47 runs.
Snow measurements
Base depth, summit depth, and recent snowfall are the core numbers to watch. At Cascade Mountain, summit conditions (390m) can differ noticeably from the base, so we break both out separately rather than showing a single average.
Weather conditions
Wind and temperature swings matter as much as fresh snowfall. Cold, calm conditions hold snow quality well, while wind-loading or a warm-up can change things quickly — especially given the elevation spread between Cascade Mountain's base and summit.
Data sources
Snowfall and depth figures for Cascade Mountain come from official mountain sources; weather and outlook data comes from independent forecasting services. The mountain is served by 11 lifts, including 4 quad chairlifts.
When to check
Snow reports are typically updated early morning and late afternoon. For the most current conditions, check back regularly, especially if a winter storm is approaching.